Nonprofit to bid for what would be college football's biggest game

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Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Cowboys Stadium and the Cotton Bowl have formed a nonprofit to bring college football's championship game to North Texas.

Cowboys Stadium is no stranger to big-time events, and some think it should also host college football's biggest game.

College football has always relied on polls and bowls to crown a national championship, but the BCS is moving toward a four-team playoff series.

The Associated Press reports that sources say the sites for the national semifinals would rotate among the major bowl games. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said the site of the championship game would be bid out to any city that wants it, the way the NFL does with the Super Bowl.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Cowboys Stadium and the Cotton Bowl have formed a nonprofit to bring the championship game to North Texas.

"We have established a partnership with Jerry Jones, Steven Jones and the Cowboys Stadium and the Cotton Bowl," said Tommy Bain, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association Chairman. "It's a new organization, and that new nonprofit will bid on the national championship game."

It's still very early in the process, as the proposal for a playoff system has not yet been approved.

The BCS commissioners will present their plan to university presidents next week. If the presidents sign off -- and that seems likely -- major college football's champion will be decided by a playoff for the first time, starting in 2014.

Cowboys Stadium has already hosted the the Super Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the NBA All-Star Game and Texas state high school football championships.

"It was promised that it would be for more than just Cowboys football games, and it has definitely delivered on that," said Jay Burress, president and CEO of the Arlington Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "It's just a perfect place for a mega event. It's really the place in the United States for a mega event."

Bain said he is excited about the prospect of a Cotton Bowl game followed by the national championship game a few days later.

"You can imagine, if you project a national championship game on top of [the Cotton Bowl], it would be similar to the Super Bowl," he said.

The Cotton Bowl has historically has the second largest annual economic impact on the Metroplex, behind the annual 30-day run of the State Fair of Texas, Bain said.